MAC Forum

When the U.S. Navy went to war in December 1941 in the Pacific and for about a year afterward, its fighters and attack aircraft sported a topside color identified as "intermediate blue" by some and simply blue-gray by others. The diecast manufacturers seem to have varied interpretations of this color and many make no effort to account for the effects of the elements on the planes as they baked in the Sun on island airstrips or fought their way to their targets in low level sweeps over the ocean. My own preference is for a lighter shade, augmented by staining, weathering, etc. but not everyone agrees with me. Here are examples from a number of manufacturers to ponder:

As is evident in the picture, above, the F4Fs---made by Easy Model, Dragon and Carousel 1 all feature the lighter look I referred to, but the opposite extreme is represented by the TBD put out by SkyMax---Hobby Master's little brother. Here we see a rather deep blue-gray which is the same color as HM uses on its SBDs, TBMs and Buffalos. Which means that I have to redo such models, a number of said redos being shown in the next picture. What do you think, guys, am I doing the right thing?

Here's a closer view of the TBD redo, which is one of my latest:

I do not know about weathering effects, but the Vought Vindicator at the US Naval Air Museum in Pensacola is painted in a Midway scheme that looks very close in color and shade to the original Skymax TBD you have pictured. The other "Midway" intermediate blue schemes on the museum's SBD, F4F, and SB2A Bucaneer are slightly lighter than the Vindicator, but are also darker than the repaint you picture.

One of the reasons for lightening the colors on such models is called "the scale effect". When you hold a 1:72nd scale model of an SBD in your hand----about a foot away------that's the same as looking at the real full sized plane from a distance of 72 feet. According to the theory, particles in the air diffuse our vision at distances, causing the object to appear lighter than it really is when seen close up. Accordingly, most modelers add about 10-15% white paint to their colors for 1:72nd scale models, about 10% for 1:48th scale models and up to 20-25% for those in the 1:144th scale. When you account for the additional wear effects of exposure to the weather, wind and salt spray , etc. the consensus holds that a lightening the colors provides a more realistic picture of a plane that has seen active use that the factory fresh look one sees in a museum. It's really a matter of taste, however----- I just happen to be in the "realistic" camp.

Amazing, ed, If you are coming to florida around the 28th of January for MAC Meet 2012 bring an example to show off. If you have any US Nay seaplanes, I may be interested in buying one.
GR

grwebster wrote:Amazing, ed, If you are coming to florida around the 28th of January for MAC Meet 2012 bring an example to show off. If you have any US Nay seaplanes, I may be interested in buying one.
GR

Thanks, GR. I probably won't be able to make it to Florida for the MAC meeting but I hope you and the other attending members have a good time. I don't have any USN seaplanes in diecast other than a Corgi PBY in 1:72nd scale and a smaller rendition by Model Power, plus an IXO Mariner in 1:144th. I'm hoping that one or more manufacturers start to make planes like the Kingfisher or Duck but I'm not holding my breath.

Ed